HST Rebate For Home Renovations Ontario

HST Rebate For Home Renovations It’s a known fact that the Canadian government gives rebates for new houses. These new homes can either be bought or built by contractors. But the lesser known fact is the government provides HST rebate for renovation program. But getting rebates for home renovations can be a bit hard. Only substantially renovated homes qualify for compensation.

There are some general rules. According to government guidelines, new house rebate applies renovations of a housing complex. Condominiums, multi-unit residential buildings, and semi-detached houses are some examples. Housing complex does not include hotels, Inns and boarding houses.

A substantially renovated housing complex is afforded the HST rebate as a new house. Substantial renovations mean reconstruction of almost the entire house. There are certain factors involved in judging eligibility. Let’s take a more in-depth look at what these factors are.

Same as New Homes: An existing home receives the same treatment as new housing. GST/HST rebate guidelines are followed and maintained.

The degree of Renovation: This is the most important determinant. For rebate qualification, “substantial ” means 90% renovation. For example, almost everything other than the foundation should be renovated. Roof, walls, floors, staircase should all be fixed.

Removed or Replaced: All existing structures inside the home must be removed or replaced. In other words, the house should get a new design, with little to no resemblance to the previous structure.

Improved Home: Simply renovating is not enough. Improvement of the home also influences rebate qualification. The government won’t rebate you for repairs. The renewed house should be of improved design.

Major addition: Structural additions to your home make it qualified to file a claim of HST rebate for renovations. But there are some conditions. You should add double the floor space over the existing building. It won’t be substantial enough otherwise.

Now for a practical example. If a house has ten rooms, right rooms must be demolished and completely rebuilt. Walls, connection stairways, hallways, corridors must all be torn down. If you want to add rooms, then at least eight rooms should be added, bringing the total rooms to eighteen.

For an individual who wants to claim the rebate, they must complete the renovations within two years. They will get two more years after completion to claim the rebate. The rate of HST (Harmonized Sales tax) is 13%, and the rate of GST (Goods and Service Tax) is 5%. Maximum HST rebate renovated home is 8% of the total HST charged. The rebate amount is not taxable. Thus the receiver gets the entirety of the 8% without any tax deductions. To make an HST rebate claim, fill up the application form and submit it to the Ontario CRA.

Documentation Required

No supporting documentation is required when submitting the application form. Submitting the filled out application form is enough. The only other documentation that needs to be submitted are the invoices.

The Canadian Revenue Agency may contact you after submission of the application for required verification.

You’re planning to renovate your home, fulfilling these conditions will make you eligible to apply for HST rebate. HST rebate for Renovation application is available at the CRA (Canadian Revenue Association). You vendor can also get you the application. You can apply once but failing to provide proper paperwork will result in a cancellation.

Conclusion

This article has tried to give you a basic overview of everything that you need to know while trying to claim HST rebate for home renovations, Ontario, Canada. It’s not every day that you renovate your house, and it’s an expensive affair. Not knowing what to do can be a costly mistake.